


Learning To Get Better

by FrickenChicken_FuckinCluckin



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, And her gf's is Rose, Besides Kara and Luther because I love their love, Blue haired Traci's name is Amilia, Carl is Markus' adopted dad, Emotional Abuse, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Hank has adopted Connor, Jericho is a high school, Kara Alice and North live with Rose, Kara and Alice are sisters, M/M, Mental Abuse, North and Connor are best friends, Simon/Josh is underrated, but not an angsty one either, implied/mentioned past rape, its bitter sweet, no one can tell me other wise, not happy story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-08-24 06:33:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16634795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrickenChicken_FuckinCluckin/pseuds/FrickenChicken_FuckinCluckin
Summary: "Connor knew he was different from everyone else, no one mentioned it but it was blatantly obvious. Where others looked so alive and vibrant, he felt more mechanical and dull. Everyone else saw beauty he couldn’t see beyond only the facts. He was on the outside looking in and he knew it. He wished he could just be normal, Amanda was right he was a failure, of course she was right, Amanda is always right a voice in the back of his mind chastised."After it was found out the Amanda Stern had been abusing her son, Hank Anderson is put in charge of watching over him until they figure out how to proceed with the case and what to do with Connor. A month later the detective has adopted the 16 year old kid. Now Connor has too go to new school, Jericho High School, and learn how to live normally. A year later he's still learning how to move past what happened, thankfully he now has Hank and his friends to help him.(I'm bad at summeries but I swear it's better than the summary)





	1. It's Okay Not To Be Ok

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my story this is my first fanfic so please be nice lol.  
> This actually started as a class project or well is a class project but I went over board so now I've taken it on as my own.  
> Please enjoy!

Connor knew he was different from everyone else, no one mentioned it but it was blatantly obvious. Where others looked so alive and vibrant, he felt more mechanical and dull. Everyone else saw beauty, he couldn’t see beyond only the facts. He was on the outside looking in and he knew it. He wished he could just be normal, Amanda was right he was a failure, of course she was right, Amanda is always right a voice in the back of his mind chastised. 

Connor was stupid to think he could have all this; friends, a caring dad, a good home, he didn’t deserve it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Hey, hey, Connor?” A voice was talking to him, it sounded familiar, welcomed. Connor flinched as he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder, desperately trying to get away. He could almost feel the pressure as she squeezed, felt Amanda’s nails dig into his shoulder, he deserved it, he shouldn’t fight her. Amanda was just telling him what needed to be said, so he could do better, Connor didn’t listen and he needs to be obedient. Stupid, stupid, stup- 

“Hey kid. It’s just me, it’s just Hank.” The gentle voice said, pulling their hand away.

Hank. Frantically Connor’s brown eyes looked around, taking in his surroundings, he didn’t realize he had closed them. He was in Hank’s living room. No, their living room, he reminded himself, Hank said it was their house. Hank was looking at him with something stirring deep in his blue eyes. Connor recognized it was concern, Hank was concerned about him, Hank cared about him. He would never hurt him, stupid. 

“You with me, son?” Hank asked just as gently as before.

Connor gave him a jerky nod and what Hank thought was supposed to be a smile but it came out looking more pained than reassuring. Connor looked down at his hands which were neatly folded in his lap, shame bubbling up in his chest as his eyes began to sting with tears. He doesn’t know why Hank would take him in, Hank should have so much more than some broken mechanical kid.

“Connor can you look at me?” Hank paused waiting for Connor to look at him, once the teen looked up he continued, “It’s ok not to be ok, so I want you to be honest with me, are you ok?”. The room was quiet for a minute, the only sounds being the dog in the kitchen and the droning for the fish tank filter. The TV was off. The TV shouldn’t be off, the Gears are playing right now, winning even. Hank was looking forward to this game, they’re playing their rivals, he talked all week about how they would crush them and they were doing just that. The TV shouldn’t be off. Hank turned it off because of him. 

Connor started to nod again but he hesitated, Hank told him all the time that Connor can talk to him about anything, but Connor didn’t want to burden Hank. Hank had his own problems to handle, he didn’t need Connor’s on top of all those. But… Hank said he doesn’t have to be ok. Instead he slowly shook his head. Hank got that look again, why did Hank care so much? The older man briefly looked away before holding out his arms and looked back at the younger brunet. Connor felt something warm slide down his face, as if that single tear was a key the flood gates opened. Connor surged forward, clinging on to his adopted dad like if he let go he’d float away. 

Hank held on almost as hard, he didn’t want to hold on to Connor too tightly knowing his son doesn’t react well to too much pressure, both physically and mentally, especially in moments like this. It killed the grey haired man to watch his kid in pain like this, having no way of helping him. God, he wished so much that this was something he could fight or throw in a cell. Some days he wished that--that women would come back so he could finally send her to the dark hole where she belongs--far,far away from the kid in his arms.

They stayed like that until Connor stopped shaking, his tears finally subsiding. Hank gently pulled away, only far enough so he could properly look at Connor. His eyes searching the others face making sure there wasn’t going to be a second wave before he began to speak again. 

“You don’t have to tell me, but do you want to talk about it?”, Hank asked. Upon second thought , he knew Connor needed to be assured he isn’t being a burden he added, “You shouldn’t keep it all in, kid. I really don’t mind. You can tell me anything.” continued the older detective. 

The momentary silence returned as Connor pulled away, wiping his now puffy, red eyes before returning his hands to his lap. Connor fiddled with the hem of his sweater. It was one of his favorites. It was a pastel blue jumper, one of the first things Hank got him when he first moved in. Connor looked up focusing on the fish tank next to the TV, which was still off, he noticed. He watched Dewey Jr., their Dwarf Gourami, swim around the large tank while he contemplated his answer.

“It was nothing, just--nothing.” Connor said still looking at the orange and blue fish. Hank nodded, he was almost disappointed. Connor had been doing so well for so long. Even though he knew three out of four times Connor won’t tell him theses things, thankfully Connor would talk to his friends if he didn’t tell his dad or at least that’s what Connor told Hank. “We’re missing the game.” The teen didn’t even like sports, watching or playing, he just loves spending time with his adopted father. Whether it be sitting at the dining table doing homework while Hank was cooking, blasting his favorite death metal band, or just lounging around on the couch watching the game in comfortable silence. The brunet did like to analyze the players and techniques to try and determine who would win, he was usually right.

“Huh, I guess we are.” Hank responded turning the TV back on. He knew the kid meant more than simply stating an observation. Not wanting to push the boy too much, he didn’t say anymore. He waited a second longer before completely turning his attention to the basketball game. Two commercial breaks later Connor picks up the remote to the television and turning the volume slightly lower. He continued to look at the ground for a minute.

“I’m sorry I’m so different, you deserve better. Amanda was right about me, I'm a failure. You shouldn’t care.” Connor whispered, quiet enough Hank almost missed it. Hank hated moments like this, having to watch the kid he loves spiral into self hate. Connor was brilliant, intelligent, surprisingly sassy, maybe a little oblivious social wise but when it mattered he always knew exactly what to say. Connor didn’t even know just how special he is. Having to see him curle into himself, making him look so small, looking more like a young child than a 17 year old.

“Connor none of that is true. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to me. Okay? I mean it.” Hank said in a voice that he saved for really serious moments.Trying to convey that he meant every word and that won’t be changing anytime soon. Connor finally looks at him, giving Hank a small, watery smile that looked more genuine this time.

“Thank you.” It was just as quiet as before but so much more emotion that it comes out choked up. Hank cleared his throat looking away to the Gears game.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” Connor’s smile grew at the older man's response. Hank doesn't like talking about emotions, he does it for Connor though and he’s thankful for it. But, once the talk is over Hank always gets incredibly awkward, he can’t help find it both endearing and very, very amusing. Connor turned his attention to the basketball game as well.

They stayed that way long after the basketball game had ended, simply enjoying each others company. At some point during the night Sumo,their giant St. Bernard, had made his way onto the couch and layed himself across both men, his head resting on Connor’s lap and his bottom half on Hank’s. As the night dragged on Connor found himself fighting sleep that threatened to over take him.

“Come on, son, I think it’s time to go to bed.” Hank said as he turned off the television. Connor just hummed in acknowledgment his eyes already closed. Hank smiled at the sight of his son, Connor always tried to look professional so seeing him relaxed and casual was a rare sight. “Alright I’m not letting you sleep on the couch, you’re too big and I don’t want to hear you complain all morning.”. When all he got was a more aggressive hum, Hank decided the best course of action would be to throw a pillow at him. Connor finally opened his eyes to glare at him, all he got was a smirk in return. Sighing while rolling his eyes Connor slowly sat up and gently pushed Sumo off of his lap. As the 17 year old stood up he let out a groan that was cut off by another pillow hitting his chest. Dropping his hands back to his sides he rounded on his dad to throw a pillow at him in retaliation. But the older man simply hit it out of the air before it could hit it’s target.. “Your aim is shit when you’re tired.” Hank said matter of factly as he turned to go down the hall that lead to the bedrooms.

“You’re shit when you’re tired.” Connor whispered under his breath, glaring at the Lieutenant’s back as he walked away.

“What was that?” Hank called slightly turning to look back at the teen.

“Nothing, I just said good night!” Connor said putting on the most innocent face he could. Hank simply narrowed his eyes suspically at his response. “What?! Can’t I wish my loving father a pleasant night?” The younger of the two asked, his innocent face slowly morphing into a shiteating grin when Hank’s eyes narrowed more. 

“Uhu sure, just remember I have the power to throw your ass in jail and I wouldn’t even bat an eye while doing it.” Hank threatened continuing to walk to his bedroom.

“Love you too Hank!” Connor called out as the bedroom door closed. Smiling to himself Connor walked over to Dewy’s take to feed him for the night. He watched as the small fish chased the pebble like food as it floated down to the bottom of the tank. After a few seconds Sumo began to whine and hit Connor’s hand with his nose. “Okay, okay I’m going, boy.” Connor sighed straightening up and heading to his own room, Sumo following close behind him. Once he was alone in his room, he sagged against the bedroom door. Talking with Hank did always help, and he loved Hank and how much he cared but at the same time…

Connor sighed heading to his bed, where Sumo has already made himself comfortable. He collapsed into his bed, falling flat on his face, he turned over to stare at his ceiling. Hank told him he wasn’t being a burden, Connor wanted to believe him, God he wanted to believe Hank so bad about everything, but he was raised on the thought that emotions like that were not allowed, to ignore them. Any emotions really, you just can’t simply unteach what someone had been taught for 16 years, he let out one last sigh before turning on his side and turning off his lamp. This was going to be a restless night.


	2. Meet the Jericew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some friends being dudes with a side of Gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for nice comments on the last chapter I thought it was bad so thanks for the encouragement! 
> 
> I have two other chapters already written so expect those in the next two or so days!
> 
> Here’s number two~~

The bell rang signaling that it was lunchtime, hoards of students flooded into the halls all heading to the cafeteria. Connor walked out of his 4th period, algebra 2, his least favorite class, thankfully he had Simon. Simon was the only thing keeping him sane in that hell class. It wasn’t that it was a hard class, Connor knew what he was doing but more so that the teacher hates him. Mr. Gallegos wasn’t even an older teacher he was actually pretty young, maybe in his late 30’s. But he did like Simon so the blonde always vouched for him and called Mr. Gallegos out when Connor got a lower grade than he should have. The blonde was how he’s getting a B and not an F, which annoyed Connor to no end, not to brag but in all his other classes he has an A.

But Connor couldn’t hold the teachers bias toward Simon against him, the blue eyed boy was probably one of the nicest people to ever live. Honestly he’s the only reason North and Josh haven’t killed each other. They both want to do the same thing, help the less fortunate and hold the greedy and oppressive accountable for their actions, it’s just they go about it differently. Josh is a pacifist where North would like to take a more aggressive approach to things, they often buttheads over even the small issues. But Simon is always there to defuse the situation, he always has a smile to share and is constantly there for them. Connors sure that if Simon wasn’t here none of them would still be friends.

“I don’t get it, I haven’t done anything!” Connor complained as they walked out of the class to join the sea of kids. They were just handed back the test that they took the week prior, he had gotten a 47 out of 50 after he had studied all night. 

Simon gave him a sympathetic smile, “Maybe he doesn’t like that you’re smarter than him and he just feels threatened by your brilliance.” The smaller boy said trying to come up with some reasons for the math teachers hatred for his friend while also reassuring said friend. Connor simply gave him a look that clearly said he didn’t believe him, “At least I have a theory, where’s yours Mr. Genius?” Simon gave him an equally accusatory look. After that they fell into casual conversation mostly about other classes and their weekend plans they were making with their other three friends, Josh, North, and Markus. When they suddenly felt another body colliding with theirs and arms thrown around their necks. Speaking of North, Connor thought foldly. 

“Sup nerds?” The strawberry blonde asked the pair, grinning like the chester cat. Connor liked North, she was fierce and wouldn’t hesitate to fight anyone who hurt her friends, and he was honored to be included in that group. North was very suspicious of him at first, she didn’t trust him and he couldn’t blame her. She got more comfortable with him after a month and somehow half a month after that she started trusting him. He has learned a lot about the closed off women in the past year he has been her friend, he learned that he wasn’t the only one with a, for lack of a better word, bad past. Neither of them liked talking about it but when it caught up with them they went to each other. Their histories weren’t exactly the same but they both understood how the other felt, the horror stories were close enough they knew how to help. The other three were great, both Connor and North had talked to them about what happened when they were younger but they would never understand, no matter how hard they tried, and they did try, but it’s something you can only truly understand by living through it. 

Thankfully the duo had gotten use to her attics or they might have fallen over, “Hello to you too.” Connor replied in a tone that gave away his sarcasm. Causing the older girl to snicker. 

“So how was bio?” Simon asked with a kind smile. North let out a loud groan, Connor wasn’t the only one with a teacher out for their head. Connor sent his friend a glare knowing that a long rant was about to come. As predicted North began a long tangent about how taking an AP class was one of the dumbest things she’s ever done and how her teacher was a huge bitch who needed to be fired. Her complaining only seasd once they made it to the cafeteria and spotted their other two friends sitting at their usually table. It was by a large window and far enough away from the other kids that they got some form of peace. 

“Hey gays!” North called out at Josh and Markus as they reached the table causing both boys to notice their friends approaching them. 

“You are aware you have two girlfriends right?” Markus asked the girl who was now sitting across him 

North blushed suddenly becoming very sheepish, “They’re not my girlfriends, Amelia and Rose are just my friends!” 

“Well someone should tell them that.” Josh said smiling behind his water bottle. North sent him a look like she was about to kill him. 

“I think there should be a ‘yet’ somewhere in that sentence, North.” Connor added sending her a large smile when the glare was turned to him. 

“Stay out of it Anderson”, she pointed a finger at him like she was scolding him, “I know where you sleep.” With that she dropped her finger onto the table still glaring at him before turning and slowly glared at all the boys sitting with her.

They continued bantering throughout the lunch period, going through every topic they could. Soon the bell rang once again telling them it was time to go to their next class, thank god it was their last period at least. North let out another groan

“Why must they torture us?” She said dropping her head onto the lunch table. 

“Come on there’s only one more period then we’re free, I’m sure you’ll live till then.” Josh told her, all he got was the middle finger in response causing the dark skinned man to roll his eyes. “Well I got to go to class, see you guys later.” Josh said as he stood and gathered his stuff. 

“Hey I’ll walk with you!” Simon stood up to join the taller boy, “bye guys!” The blonde waved goodbye as the pair began to walk off. Markus and Connor said goodbye and North offered a small wave not looking up from her position on the table. Brown eyes met blue and green silently agreeing their friends are dorks, they looked away when North finally lifted up her head.

“So how much you wanna bet they’re already together?” She said raising one questioning eyebrow as a mischievous smile stretched across her face. 

“No way, they’re still dancing around each other. They have been for almost two years and it doesn’t seem like anything has changed. We’d notice if they had started dating.” Markus simply stated as if it was obvious. At Markus’ rebuttal North turned her head towards Connor.

“What go you think, Sherlock?” She asked in a serious voice as if his answer was life or death. Just like the basketball games Connor was very good at analyzing people and just about any situation objectively. When he first began talking to what everyone at school had dubbed ‘The Jericrew’ he had tried to hide his abilities, because he wanted to be ‘normal’. But that didn’t last long, Amanda had made sure he could adapt to any situation so he wouldn’t fail at anything, it was second nature to him.

North had been the first to bring it up saying he was probably better than most police officers simply because he could read Josh. Markus and Simon wore their hearts on their sleeves, North tried to hide hers but sometimes things slipped through and he could tell because he was the same way but Josh was the hardest. Unlike the other three he didn’t show off his every emotion and he didn’t try to hide them but he has a face that doesn’t give away much on top of being the quietest of the bunch, it made things hard. But Connor got it down after two weeks and she’s called him Sherlock ever since. 

Connor held up his hands, “Don’t look at me, I don’t know.” He said slightly shaking his head. In actuality he had noticed the subtle changes in how they act around each other about a week ago, he had asked them about it, Simon and Josh confirmed his suspicions but requested that he didn’t tell anyone. They wanted to keep it a secret of a little while longer. 

“Bull-“ The warning bell cut her off before she could finish her thought. “Fine, but this isn’t over, okay?” It was more of a statement than a question but Connor gave an affirmative nonetheless. After receiving the answer she wanted she turned, making sure her long side braid nearly hit Connor. Markus gestured with his head that they should get going. They had their 6th period together it was one of the only good parts of Connors day on B days. He loved spending time with Markus, maybe a little too much in fact. Markus was great, he was stubborn but always listened and took into consideration everyone else’s ideas. He was strong and a natural leader, honestly it didn’t come as a surprise he was the school president. He was so full of life and helped everyone in turn spreading that lively energy. He was everything Connor wasn’t. Markus seemed to like spending time with him as well but Connor chose not to read too deeply into that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally the teacher was going to be Reed or Allen but I thought about it and it didn’t make any sense since like the androids are human teenagers but like most of the other things are the same as the game so I made someone up.
> 
> After the ones I have go up I plan on bringing in Gavin and the police crew so maybe in chapter 4?? Or 5?? Maybe???? We’ll see but soon! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Locker Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North has the eyes of a hawk and makes sure her boys are ok, Ft. Simons hate for the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short or at least compared to the others. 
> 
> North and Connor are best friends and are always there for each other and I love them 
> 
> Enjoy~~

Finally the last bell rang, Markus and Connor began their walk to the parking lot. Markus’ dad was a famous painter and was able to afford getting Markus his own car so now he has become their official chauffeur. While they were walking down the hall, talking about the project their teacher had assigned that they were going to be partners on, Connor spotted North standing by his locker. 

“Hey go ahead, I need to get something from my locker and Simon will complain for forever if he has to wait in the cold for too long.” Connor said turning to his friend. Markus gave him a questioning look, he had probably seen North too because he nodded when Connor gave him a small smile. Offering one of his own as he began to walk away

Connor walked over to his locker where North was leaning on the lockers. “Hey, what’s up?” He asked despite already knowing what she was going to say. 

“You were acting off this morning.” Was all she said but her face was asking a question left unsaid. 

“Didn’t sleep much last night, that’s all, don’t worry.” He reassured her offering a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Both Connor and North could be great liars but in moments like this they could see through the other. North just hummed, she obviously knew he was lying so he continued, “Last night was rough. Hank and I were watching the game and one of the commercials came on about CyberLife’s new product or something but this one she was the one talking I-I …I don’t know. I guess I freaked out. It was dumb I shouldn’t have panicked after how long it’s been since the last panic attack or everything that happened really. But Hank and I talked. I’m fine, I promise.” 

North hummed again but he somehow knew it meant something else than before. She was looking just pass him when she began to talk, “...are you sure? That you’re good I mean?” It was quieter than her normal, loud voice. Just like Hank she didn’t like these kind of talks but still tried for him. He has no idea what he did to deserve these people. 

“Yeah I promise.” He told her in a gentle voice, knowing how much she worried. 

“Well okay,” She said straightening and slightly shaking herself, almost like she was trying to shake out her worry and the heaviness of their brief conversation. “We should get going before Simon starts complaining.” She smiled amused by their smaller friends idiosyncrasy. 

“Oh god that slipped my mind. We should probably hurry.” Connor said, he knew she was just trying to quickly change the subject and he was thankful, he didn’t mind these talks as much as Hank and North but he was still getting use to expressing his emotions, that makes it hard to articulate how he’s feeling which makes these already tough conversations tougher.

They didn’t really hurry, they took their time walking down to the parking lot, just talking and enjoying the other’s company. Once they got outside they quickly spotted Markus’ car, they practically ran to the it not wanting to be outside in November Detroit weather a moment longer than necessary. They got into the back of the car, as Josh had claimed the passenger seat. Both men in the front seats turned to scowl at the pair. They gave the two a questioning look. 

That’s when Simon started talking, “Finally! I thought you two were never gonna come out! It’s so cold out here and we couldn’t go home to warm air and comfy, fuzzy clothes and blankets because we had to wait for Sherlock and Watson!” Oh no… They were too late it had begun, now he wouldn’t stop for the next 10 minutes. Connor and North shared an ‘Oh shit’ look before looking back at Markus and Josh giving them sheepish smiles. The two in the front gave one last glare before they turned around and began to pull out of the parking lot. 

“By the way I’m more of an Irene.” North mumbled under her breath once Simon had stopped complaining. Simon turned to glare at her but his huge smile gave him away as the other three smiled at her dumb off hand comment. After that they fell into comfortable silence the rest of the car ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice little chapter for you before the next >:)
> 
> But seriously next chapter will be very angsty, we'll get a look into when Connor first met the crew through North's eyes and the story of how they became friends. I'll put at the start of the chapter the trigger warnings for some implied/mentioned rape and the abuse again. Just a heads up. 
> 
> As Always feedback is appreciated and let me know of any mistakes!


	4. Caring For The Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North and Connor have a heavy talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning!!: mentioned/implied past rape as well as more talked about emotional abuse and child neglect.
> 
> This one is a heavy chapter and very, very long. I tried to find away to shorten it but there was no natural breaks soooo. I'm pretty sure this chapter alone doubles the entire story.

The group lived relatively far from each other, so in the winter portion of the year they tended to just be dropped off at their individual house rather two or three walking together after the first stop, which happened to be the Anderson residence. Connor bid each of the other occupants of the car goodbye when they pulled up to his house. He was about halfway to the small houses front door when he heard a familiar female voice yelling at him to wait. He turned around to see North jogging towards him. He cocked his head to the side and sent her a confused look. God he looks like a puppy she thought to herself as she reached him. 

“You are aware this is my house and you’re stop number three, right?” Connor asked the brown eyed girl. 

“No, I thought this was my house,” she gave him a deadpanned look, ”Yes I know this is your house. Now can we go inside? I’m freezing.” She requested gesturing toward the painted door in front of them.

“Oh yeah,” He turned to unlock the door and swung it open, stepping aside he held out an arm and bowed a little, ”ladies first.” 

North rolled her eyes and scoffed at her friends dumb antics, “At least one of you three dumbasses knows their place.” She joked back as she walked into Connor and Hank’s house. Connor was just about to ask her what this was all about when they heard a loud thud followed by the sounds of paws hitting the floor and a dog tag jingling. North dropped to her knees just as Sumo skidded into the living room/entryway. Sumo loved all of Connor’s friends but his favorite was definitely North. That was probably because she spoiled him with treats and pets, and North loved him just as much. She always says she’s more of a cat person but if you saw her with the St. Bernard you could never have guessed. Connor started putting his school stuff on the dining table so he’d remember to work on his homework later as North began talking to Sumo in the voice people save for babies and their pets. After he had taken off his shoes off and had put his keys in the cupboard North finally stood up again. 

She also took off her boots before following the younger male into the kitchen adjacent to the living room. “So is Hank working tonight?” she asked as she began rummaging around their pantry looking for food.

“Yeah and stop stealing our food, you had a snack in your hand every time I saw you today, there’s no way you can possibly be hungry.” He said walking over to her and taking one of the apples inside. She gave him a look of disgust due to him getting an apple over the Honey Buns right next to them. He rolled his eyes at her before walking back to the table in the middle of the room. Connor lend against the wooden surface, “So are you going to tell me why you are at my house and not your own or…?” He asked after the girl had finally chosen a snack, the hot Cheetos he bought two days earlier to give her the next time she came over, which was a lot sooner than he thought it would be.

She looked down at the bag in her hands taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly before she began to talk very softly, “Um like four or so days ago, on the news, they were talking about this family. They umm-- they had been abusing their three kids. Physically and, and,” She paused looking up at the ceiling to keep the tears from falling, blinking rapidly. Realizing it was pointless she looked down again letting the tears fall. Connor began to step towards her reaching his hand out to try and comfort his friend but remembered how he reacted to Hank doing that just last night, dropping his hand to his side he took another step closer to the crying girl. North shook her head and looked up again, this time looking straight at Connor “and sexually. I haven’t had an attack in months either but hearing it on the news brought back all the memories. Even though it has been a couple of years now I still can’t-- can’t hear those kind of things without remembering. It feels almost like I’m back there, back in that room with him. No matter how long it’s been, or how much I talk about it, how much I tell myself I’m fine, should be fine, I’m not, I’m not fine. I don’t think I’ll ever really be ok or that I can hear about things like that without the memories coming back. It’s been three and a half years and I’m still dealing with it, still trying to get better. You can’t get over those traumatic memories overnight, Connor, it’s not possible. You need to give yourself time to heal or you never will.” It was deathly quiet after North’s speech. The words she spoke hanging in the air. 

It had taken North so long to learn that, it was only recently that she started listening to that advice, and she’d be damned if she left Connor to figure that out all by himself. He had told her all about his mother-- he called her Amanda she didn’t like him calling her mom-- how she made him burry all the emotions that she deemed unnecessary, which was basically all of them. She tried to mold him into some sort of robot who would follow all her orders and wouldn’t bat an eye at what she wanted him to do, or what the company she was CEO of wanted him to do. She beat down every personality trait that didn’t service her. Looking at the awkward boy in front of her she can’t believe anyone wouldn’t love every bit of him. He thinks he’s cold and mechanical but in reality he’s so full of life and everything that comes along with that, just like everyone else. 

North remembers hearing about the Stern case on TV. It had been a big deal as Amanda Stern was a very prominent figure in the public eye and she was seen as an overall good person. Her company, CyberLife, was making huge leaps in technology, making improvements all over the country for everyone. It was originally founded by one of her old students, Elijah Kamski, he gave it to her because he wanted to focus on his inventions but Amanda was the one to turn the company into what it is. 

Once it became public that she had been abusing her adopted son it was the only story to run for nearly a week. Then a month or so later it was announced that the case wouldn’t be going to court because, in the eyes of the law, mental and emotional abuse isn’t actually a form of abuse. Amanda got off with nothing more than a ruined reputation, then she just disappeared. If North ever saw that women she’d probably be the one going to court. Hank called first dibs though, North agreed but only because of all he’s done for her tall dork. Despite the Lieutenant being a homicide detective he somehow became the one to question/look after the, then, 16 year old. After a month or so of having the kid in his house he asked if Connor would like to stay with him permanently and Connor quite happily agreed. About two months later Simon had walked up to their lunch table and introduced this gangly kid from his honors English class. She didn’t like the new kid at first, it’s no secret North had trust issues but something about him told her he was hiding something, something big. He had looked familiar though she couldn’t place it and didn’t really try too. She wasn’t willing to let some stranger come and ruin the little family she had built. He didn’t always sit with them, most days he’d come up with an excuse as to why he couldn’t stay and she really didn’t mind. The less they saw of him, the less likely to he was to hurt her boys. 

But Simon really liked that kid, she didn’t bother to learn his name, he talked about how smart he was, awe obvious in his voice and Josh wholeheartedly agreed. Apparently he was in Josh’s geometry class and was always ahead of everyone, basically every teachers wet dream and apparently Markus’ too. After only a week of Connor occasionally popping around for a few minutes the boy with heterochromatic eyes had decided that Connor was perfect. For a while that was all Markus would talk about. About a month after Connor came to Jericho High School he started becoming a large fixture in the group, the other three really liked him, Josh was hesitant at first too, she thinks he knew something was up with the new kid too, but after a week or two he fell for Connors awkward charm as well. But she did become more comfortable with him being around. It had been a month and he hadn’t done anything suspicious. 

Half a month later though Simon had come to lunch asking if anyone had seen Connor, he wasn’t in class but Simon had seen him that morning and Connor was not looking okay then. No one had seen him. Towards the end of lunch, some divine being decided to work magic because North decided to check the news just then. One of the main headlines was about Amanda Stern who had returned to CyberLife after leaving due to child abuse accusations. North remembered that case, it had made her sick to see, Stern got off free because the court didn’t see what she did to her son as abuse...her son. Wasn’t her son named Connor? Suddenly everything clicked into place, why Connor came out of nowhere and dogged all the questions about why he came to Jericho, why he acted like he was hiding something. Why he seemed different from everyone else. Why he looked so familiar. 

North came up with some excuse as to why she needed to leave before lunch ended, as she was known for staying in the cafeteria for as long as possible. Once she was in the clear she all but ran to the G hall bathroom on the upper level, North had no idea if he would be there, all she knew was his class before and after lunch were both in that hall. If she was in his shoes she would try and get away from everyone too but she also knew via the boys that Connor was always early to class. Even though she wasn’t quite the detective like the kid she was looking for, through process of elimination this was the most logical place for him to be and Connor was all about logic. As soon as she got to the men’s restroom the first thing she heard was sniffles, someone was crying, bingo. 

She walked in and tentatively knocked on the stall door, announcing her presence. She proceeded to open the door and simply sat beside him, knowing all too well that in moments like this you needed some space but at the same time have someone there to ground you and to remind you you’re not alone. It was awkward for those first few minutes Connor was obviously embarrassed but North just continued to sit beside him. They sat in silence until Connors tears subsided, North had silently handed him a tissue from her bag. He had begun to apologize but she cut him off saying he shouldn’t, that she understood exactly how he felt and was going through in a voice that illustrated that she truly did. All he did was nod and didn’t press her on what she meant, she really appreciated that. 

As she looked at the boy sitting next to her on the floor of a men’s bathroom stall trying almost desperately to wipe his tears away, she was struck with the realization he was just as broken as her. And now his abuser was not only back but has returned to her position of power, now he’d have to see and hear about her every time CyberLife made something new, which was like every four months or so. She realized she’d do anything to keep him safe and she was going to help just like the others tried to help her but this time they can both have someone who understands. He was one of her boys now and no one hurt her boys.

Looking at Connor now, in his dimly lit kitchen, she can’t help but see that kid crying in the bathroom. He looks more confident, maybe just a little better than he was last year. But being better doesn’t mean you’re better, North knew that all too well. He’s still broken, still trying to figure out how to move on from the past, not letting it control him, but they both know that would still take a while to accomplish. At least they were trying, trying together, and were steadily getting there. 

It was Connor’s turn to let tears fall, he knew what North was saying was only the truth, logically it shouldn’t make his stomach fill with lead, cause his throat to constrict or make his eyes sting due to the tears blurring his vision, it’s stupid but it does. One thing he’s learned in the past year was that things like the truth can hurt you. Sometimes they can hurt more than an anything physical. When you are physically hurt you always heal and the pain goes away but when it’s emotional it’s doesn’t just heal over or go away it’s always there and the truth can poke at that open wound, agitating it and causing more pain. 

He had it under control, he’d had under control for so long. But one commercial, after a month of no freak outs, caused everything to unravel, like it was never organized in the first place. After his talk with Hank he really did feel better, he was fine while talking with his friends and in class. Maybe his talk with North at school wasn’t exactly a happy moment but it wasn’t bad either. It was overall a good day to contrast the night before but now Connor began to realize that it wasn’t an overall good day maybe it was just him telling himself it was good. Spending time with his friends was truly a good part but having good parts doesn’t make the whole machine prefect. His conversation with Hank wasn’t much about why his panic attack happened but addressing some of the thoughts the sight of Amanda had stirred up in his head. When ever North and Connor had “locker talks” it usually clued him in on the fact some things needed to be talked about more, for some reason this days locker talk just wasn’t enough. 

CyberLife had been quiet for a while now, they didn’t have any new products coming out to the public. Connor could barely recall what the commercial was about, something about an anniversary, what he could recall though was the look in Amanda’s eyes. He knew that look, it was the look she got when she was pretending to be happy-- or pleased, Connor couldn’t remember her being happy. She gave him that look a lot, when he didn’t fail completely or let her down. Connor would do anything if it meant she would look at him with that expression. But that rarely happened, he could always do better, he was always just short of what she expected, he always failed her. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I don- I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Connor tried wiping his tears away, this is ridiculous he shouldn’t be crying, there’s no reason. North said it’s okay but he knew it wasn’t, why did everyone keep saying it was okay? Amanda told him it wasn’t that's why she was never happy, he would always do such stupid things. “She looked happy, why was she happy? She was never-never happy! She never looked at me like that. Why wasn’t I ever enough?” 

North pulled Connor into an iron tight hug, after putting the snack she was still holding on the table behind him. He didn’t deserve this, no one deserved this. They’ve done this a lot at this point but each time it feels like a knife is being plunged into her heart. He managed to seem so put together almost all the time so seeing him like this would send anyone into shock but North got the unfortunate privilege of seeing this all the time. She’s glad he goes to her or rather that he goes to anyone at all and she does the same towards Connor but it never gets easier. 

She pulled away and cupped his face in both her hands, “You don’t have to apologize, you have nothing to apologize for, okay? You’ve done nothing wrong. You are enough, you mean so much to all of us and you make us happy. Me, Hank, Markus, Josh, Simon and so many other people. You are good enough but she’s too arrogant to see that. So fuck her, she never deserved someone as incredible as you.” North said said quietly, her words firm but gentle.

Connor began shaking his head starting to tell how she was wrong. North gently squeezed his cheeks effectively stopping his protest before it started. “I mean every word, I’ll keep saying them till you believe me, literally. You know I will so don’t make me.” Connor slightly rolled his eyes. That’s a good sign she thought triumphantly, but not enough.

“Connor Anderson you are gift and she’s evil.” North declared loudly suddenly breaking the quiet that had lasted since she first began talking. Dramatically pulling his face to her chest. He was quite a bit tall her than the older girl so the sudden change in height nearly sent both to the ground. 

All she heard in response was a mumbled “North…” smiling to herself she once again yelled at him how he was a gift to humanity. She would stand here yelling all night if that was what it took and they both knew it. Connor lightly laughed at her pushing against the table to help him stand up properly causing North to let go of his neck. He wiped his eyes and sent he a shaky smile. “You’re ridiculous, you know?” He asked the smaller girl. 

“Maybe but my methods are effective.” North said with a smirk on her face. Just like earlier she was trying to quickly get rid of the somber mood and once again he was thankful. This had definitely made things a little better, it was nice to just let it all out and having North around made it easier considering how their friendship started but that didn’t make these moments less embarrassing. Her eyes softened and her smile became kinder, “You better? Honestly.” She asked looking him up and down.

Connor gave her another smile, “Yeah, a little.” He whispered. North lifted her hand and gave his arm one last squeeze before dropping it to her side. 

“So how about we walk Sumo, then bust out some cheesy movies? I’ll make fun of them and you can analyze them too much and tell me everything wrong about it?” 

Upon hearing his name coupled with “walk” Sumo once again came running out of Connors bedroom, where he retired to after North stopped petting him. The big dog ran into the kitchen and jumped onto the two occupants of the small room. 

“Sumo! No! You know better than to jump on people.” Connor scolded the dog, “Well I guess we have to now.” He sighed as the St. Bernard turned in circles waiting for them to get the leash. 

“Good!” North said with a smile on her face. She was quite aware that taking Sumo on a walk was one of Connors favorite activities, it helped him calm down. She also knew that, despite his protests, Connor did in fact like cheesy movies. Yes he loved to dissect them and loudly cretic them, predict the ending, much to everyone else’s annoyance as he was usually right, but really he actually enjoyed them for the stories. One of her best memories of Connor was when they all decided to watch “The Fault In Our Stars”. It was one of the few times Connor was wrong about a movie, About half way he announced that Hazel would die, everyone else had already seen the movie though. The other four all made eye contact and shared an excited smirk. When Connor didn’t change his prediction out loud they knew they were in for a treat. Sure enough, by the time of Augustus’ funeral the brunette was crying. He denies it of course.

It’s become North’s life mission to get that to happen again. She’ll take any opportunity to watch those kinds of movies with him now. They gathered up the supplies, including the almost forgotten hot cheetos on the table, needed for the walk and headed out the door. The walk took about an hour, as the stopped periodically and even spent around twenty or so minutes at the park a little while away from the house. By the time they got back the house the sun had begun to set. It took a little bit for them to settle on a movie, gather snacks, and settle into the couch, buried in blankets and huddled next to each other. 

“Thank you, North.” Connor whispered as the credits to the first movie began to roll. She just leaned in closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooh that was a big one. This was hard to write after North's little speech I got kinda stuck as well as after Connors internal monologue about Amanda. But I think it turned out alright?
> 
> I hope I didn't bore you all!


	5. The Calm After The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little filler chapter about what happened after North and Connors talk!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best work but not too bad either. This the shortest chapter so far it’s only 1148 opposed to the over 4000 chapter before it.

After a long day Hank finally got home. He felt bad about leaving the kid alone all day after last night but Fowler’s been on his ass about a case he’s been working for over a week. Hank knew Connor would be fine by himself but he also felt like Connor should have someone with him. 

Hank sighed as he unlocked the front door. He was greeted by a dark house, the only source of light being the TV. Weird. Connor usually likes having a few lights on if he’s not asleep but even more bizarre was that he couldn’t see the younger male. Sure he could be in his bedroom but typically Connor would come out to greet him. Hank walked around into the living room to turn off the TV figuring the kid must have gone to bed and simply forgot to do it himself. When the grey haired man rounded the couch he was greeted by the sight of his son and his best friend asleep on the couch.

Hank didn’t know North all that well, honestly. He had met all of Connor’s friends, Simon was incredibly nice and was always smiling for some reason or another, Hank liked him well enough, he was probably Hank’s favorite if he had to choose. Josh was quiet so Hank didn’t know all that much about him but he seemed like a good kid. Markus was on thin ice in Hanks mind, he was sure Markus was a good kid from what he’s been told but it was obvious he had a crush on Connor and Hank wasn’t going to let some punk-ass kid break his son’s heart. The only reason Markus hasn’t been shot is because Hank knew Connor liked him too and Connor was happy around him. Hank didn’t want to take that happiness away. But North was a whole other deal. He couldn’t get a solid read on her, the other three had been easy, they had acted basically the same every time he had met them and in the stories Connor had told him about his friends. But the North he met was completely different from the North in Connor’s stories. 

Hank had a hunch she was the one Connor talked to about Amanda. She acts in a way that tells him something bad had happened to her. Although he didn’t know what Hank could take a guess based on how she acts around him compared to the women she’s living with, Rose, one could argue that the difference came from the fact North lived with Rose. But Connor had been friends with North when she had to move in with the kind women, and her three other kids Adam, Kara and Alice, after she couldn’t continue to live on her own. Hank had asked Connor how North was doing with the move, at that point he thought she might behave that way around him due to abuse, but Connor told him she was fine. That North really liked Rose, Kara and Alice, apparently she had been hesitant around the son, Adam. It all pointed to the same place and he was a detective after all, he’d seen these signs before. If she was the one to help Connor then Hank liked her already even if she didn’t trust him yet.

He smiled at the two teens, if he was right then they both deserved nights like this. His smile momentarily turned into a small frown, his eyebrows furring, that also means Connor wasn’t as ok as he had he assured Hank the night before. The detective shook his head slightly and bent down to lightly shake his son’s shoulder. 

As Connor began to stir, his sudden movement woke up the sleeping girl next to him. It took a minute for both teens to fully wake up but once they did Connor looked up to see his adopted father looking down at him. 

“Hi” Connor said in a sleep heavy voice. “What time is it?” 

“It’s 11:30.” Hank said before turning his attention to North. “You should probably call Rose before she starts to think you were kidnapped.” The girl slowly nodded her head before getting up and heading to the kitchen to call the larger women. “Sorry it’s so late, we got kinda caught up. I probably should have texted you, huh?” Hank said rubbing the back of his neck after returning his gaze to the brunette. 

“It’s fine. I was busy anyways.” Connor responded nodding towards the TV behind Hank. 

Just then North returned to the living room and plopped down on to the couch again. “Kara’s on her way to come pick me up.” She informed the two men. 

“Alright, well I’ll leave you two be.” The grey haired detective said straightening up. 

“Bye!” Connor called out as Hank began to walk away, North mumbled a goodbye as well. Hank yelled the same thing back before disappearing into his room. 

Connor turned to North after getting up to turn off the television. “So, now what?” He asked. North shrugged in response as Connor began to walk back towards the couch. “Fair enough.” He said sitting down. They fell into comfortable silence, each going on their phone until Kara texted North letting her know she was outside. Connor bid his friend goodbye and waved to the short haired girl in the car. 

He sighed as he walked back inside the house. This had been becoming more  
frequent, maybe not as big as tonight was but still. He was lucky to have North, Connor wasn’t sure he could do this without her. They had had a rocky start but now he can’t imagine life without the fiery girl. 

He walked down the hall leading to his bedroom, pausing outside of Hank’s room and tentatively knocked on the door. He heard some shuffling before the door opened revealing the older man. Connor looked down at the floor for a second before looking back up at Hank. Hank’s eyes filled with what Connor recognized as understanding. He pulled Connor into a hug. Connor held on tight to his adopted father just as hard as the night before. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything.” Connor whispered into the detectives shoulder. 

“It’s okay, son, nothing to apologize for.” Hank reassured him while rubbing his back. 

Connor nodded slowly pulling away from his adoptive dad. 

“Goodnight.” Connor said with a small smile on his face.

“Night, kid.” Hank said a smile on his face as well. He only closed his door once he saw Connor disappear into his room. Connor still hadn’t told him everything about last night but it’s safe to assume he talked to North about it. He sighed walking to his bed. He just hoped that the teens talk would be enough to ease Connors mind, at least for a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how about next chapter we get a little fluff? Some awkward flirting even if they don’t know it’s flirting? After that huge heavy chapter?


	6. The beautiful art of awkward flirting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing our favorite lesbians!! Lots of gay in this one and everyone is a mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! School got super busy and I went to my dads this winter break and my little sisters are a hyperactive 5 year old and a moody 2 year old so I was busy lol plus they live in Alaska so I wanted to spend time with them. But here you go!

The next day was like nothing ever happened. The morning went about normally, Connor got up a 5, took his shower, got dressed and ready, and brewed Hank some coffee. Speaking of Hank...Connor walked back down the hall and proceeded to knock on the older mans door, he honestly didn’t expect that to do much. The brunette knew how his dad worked simply knocking was going to do much, especially after a long night like the one before. So he tried banging a little louder.

“Hank! Wake up you’re going to be late!” He paused listening, “Hank!” 

“I’m coming! Now go the fuck away.” He heard from behind the door. 

Connor walked back towards the kitchen with a small smile on his face. It felt like any other day and he hoped it would stay that way. The other three boys didn’t seem to notice much yesterday, and if they did they hadn’t said anything, so maybe he could dodge being babied by Simon. Josh tended to treat him normally if he is a aware of an issue but Markus and Simon get very concerned and they are also the most emotive of the group so they really show it. Connor greatly appreciates them but sometimes he would just like to have a normal day without Simon and Markus fawning over him.

“Hank, I’m leaving!” Connor shouted in the direction of the hallway while putting on his boots. “You should too!”. He listened for any sound assuring him his dad was awake.

“Yeah, yeah. Get going, I’m sure your boyfriend is almost here.” Hank said walking into the kitchen, causing the teenager to blush. Hank smirked at the reaction. Last year Connor had been texting Markus basically every day, Hank had made a joke about Connor liking him the boy had just given him a confused look and told him he didn’t really know. The detective wasn’t exactly good at those kinds of things, he’d never had to deal with stuff like that, he never got the chance to talk about crushes before the accident… but he had to at least try. He had asked Connor what he left like around Markus, before Connor had even finished describing it he stopped mid sentence and got a wide eyed look. Hank had laughed at that while Connor just kept staring at him in shock. He couldn’t believe Connor hadn’t gotten the hint that Markus liked him too, for such a smart and observant kid he could be a dumbass. 

Connor stepped outside of the house just as Markus pulled up to the curb to pick him up. He climbed into the back next to North. Josh once again claimed the passenger seat, he was the the first one of the group to be picked up so it’s become his unofficial assigned seat in the morning. Everyone greeted him in their usual fashion, an excited wave and smile from Simon, a polite ‘Hello’ coming from Josh, and Markus went as far as to completely turn around and give him bright smile that nearly took the breath straight from Connor’s lungs. He only got a grunt from North, she was not a morning person, Connor felt bad for anyone who tried to talk to her before at least 8am.

Unless she has had coffee, North was incredibly grumpy and easy to agitate, even more so than normal; Connor wondered how she was able to hold so much aggression in her small frame. 

She reminded him of Hank in the morning. It scared him at first but after staying with the detective for a month the brunette realized there was nothing to be afraid off. By the time North really started talking to him he was use to the behavior. 

But he also knew it was a lot worse when she stayed up too late and she had because of him. She didn’t leave his house until 11:45 so she definitely didn’t get home before midnight. Connor handed her a thermos filled with coffee, it’s the least he could do after keeping her up so late. 

“Two and a half spoonfuls of sugar and enough creamer to make it the lightest shade of brown.” She took the coffee and sent him a small smile before leaning into kiss his cheek.

“What would I do without you?”

“Probably kill Josh for breathing before 10.” he said matter of factly. North playfully hit his arm, mumbling something about killing him instead for being a smartass.

“Please don’t do that! I kinda like having Josh around, he deserves better than being killed by your sleep deprived anger.” Simon spoke up, turning to point a finger at the strawberry blonde, “And you,” he pointed at Connor this time, “don’t give her any ideas or encourage her.”

“I think it should be ‘nor’.” Connor said to himself but apparently not as quiet as he thought as the other three laughed while Simon gaped at him, dramatically placing his hand over his heart. 

“Fine! Nor be a sassy, in the wise words of North, smartass!” 

Connor just sent him a wide smile when the finger was once again being pointed at him. The car got quite for a moment afterwards. Until North’s words broke the silence.

“It’s cute, you came to your boyfriends aid? Hmmm?”

Simon’s whole face turned pink at the girls words. Josh had turned around to listen but quickly wiped around to face away from the back seat but not before the 4 other teens saw his dark cheeks blush.

“That's not- we’re not- no!” the dark skinned boy stuttered out, turning his body so not even Markus could see his face.

“Yeah! We’re not dating!” Simon squeaked out after Josh finished speaking.

North smirked, her and Markus made eye contact for a second when he looked in the rear view mirror to see what Simon looked like. It seems like their lunch time debate was still going on, Connor thought to himself.

Finally they arrived at Jericho High, Simon practically ran to the entrance door, dragging Josh along with him. The other three rolled their eyes at their friends rediculous hate of the cold; They didn’t know how he managed to survive living in Detroit for 17 years. Markus, North and Connor walked into the school, quickly finding their friends at their table. But there were two other people sitting with them. Connor immediately identified them as Amelia and Rose, Amelia's blue hair automatically giving her away.

Like with North they didn’t get off on the right foot, well, actually because of North the pair didn’t like him. At first he didn’t know why but after a month, around when North’s disdain for him dissipated, they started being less aggressive towards Connor. After North and him had officially become friends the couple even started being nice to him. He was suspicious at first, figuring North told them about Amanda and that’s why Alemila and Rose were being nice. But Connor confronted North about it and she swore she would never tell anyone if he didn’t want her too. He didn’t know North very well at the time so he was reluctant to believe her but her eyes screamed honesty. 

That had been a week since that fateful day in the bathroom and she had been kind to him; Asking if he wanted to sit with the “Jericrew”, as she called them, he declined every time, he thought she just felt bad and was trying ease her conscious. Or maybe she felt bad for him, he didn’t want her pity. But he decided not to tell North all of that, she only started liking him a week ago after all. 

Yet despite all that he was still short with her. He didn’t mean to be rude but for some reason he still didn’t fully believe her and the fact that Amelia and Rose’s opinions about him seemingly changing exactly like North’s was more than suspicious. Even if she really didn’t tell them about Amanda, which he did almost believe, that means she went around and told them bad things about him, enough to the point they basically hated him. He knew North and him weren’t good friends, they were barely friends actually despite how their relationship had changed in the past week, but it still hurt that she did that. 

Amelia and Rose walked up to his locker a day later and explained that they were truly sorry for how they treated him, they were really close to North and blindly listened to what she had said about him. But, North told them that she really, truly felt bad about what she said. 

“So she didn’t tell you about…?”He had trailed off. Although North hadn’t told them about Amanda she had told them that he had a bad past like them, just a little different, when they asked why she had suddenly changed her mind about him. Both of them just shook their heads, deciding that asking would make things worse, for now.

“Did she tell you?” Rose had hesitantly asked, it was Connor’s turn to shake his head. They fell into natural conversation after that, though it was a little awkward for that first minute, until North suddenly appeared at his locker as well. The girls were going to Amelia’s house and needed to leave. They said their goodbye’s, before she could leave Connor called out for North, he had apologized for how he acted, but North said she understood saying she has trust issues too, as he had obviously knew, that now they were even she joked. 

Connor guesses that gave him some more brownie points in the eyes of the couple because Amelia gave him a thumbs up and Rose simply smiled. They’ve all been friends since.

The two couples waved over to the three as they approached the table. Amelia and Rose scooted apart to make room for North between them. The girl lightly blushed as she sat down and the other two girls wrapped her in a big huge that cause North to let out a small noise that Amelia cooed at, making the girl in the middle blush more. The four boys shared a look, someone really needed to tell North they were trying to court her or better yet that they’re already dating.

“So Connor when do you want to meet up? For the project I mean.” Markus said blue and green meeting brown. 

“Oh! Well I don’t really have any plans this week, except saturday of course. So whenever is good with you.” The youngest of the bunch said. 

“Okay well my dad’s got that art show to go to tomorrow, so would it be okay if we started today after school?” 

“Yeah! I’d love if you came over.” Connor nodded with a big smile on his face.

“Great! I can’t wait!” Markus said a smile of his own. The two held eye contact for a little too long than necessary. It was the other fives turn to share a look sending the same message as before.

“Wait, what about you guys? You wouldn’t have ride.” Connor said breaking the eye contact, his eyebrows furrowing and tilting his head to side a little, the way he did when he was confused or trying to work out a hard problem.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot...We can do it-” Markus began, visibly disappointed, only to be interrupted by Amelia.

“They can ride with us! We were taking North anyways, we can take Josh and Simon too.” Amelia said looking over to Rose looking for her approval, it seemed like she found it considering Rose nodded to both Connor and Markus. 

“But there won’t be enough seats.”Josh said before Simon elbowed him in the ribs, sending a smile towards Connor upon seeing his confused face. That’s true Amelia’s car was one of those small ones with only four seats. 

“North can just sit in my lap.” Amelia offered as if it was the obvious solution causing North to once again blush, North duct her head while the other two females shared a smile behind her back. Connor and Markus shared a hesitant look but agreed nonetheless. The first bell rang soon after, as always Josh was the first to leave, worrying he will be late, and as of recent Simon left with him. 

“So Sherlock, spill the beans. Is that a thing or not?” Amelia asked leaning over the table. It appears that North’s nickname has spread, Connor thought. He remembered Josh and Simon’s request that he not tell anyone. He wasn’t about to go against them and tell everyone their secret, not without their permission, they trusted him and he wasn’t going to break that trust.

“Well, everything's a thing technically speaking, that’s why we say everything.” Connor smoothly responded, adding emphasis on the last ‘thing’ to really sell his point.

“I told you he’s cryptic about these kind of thing. Markus and I already tried, genius over there won’t budge.” North said bitterly, she hated not being in the loop and she knows Connor knows something. There was evidence on both sides of the matter, Connor can settle this once and for all but his stubborn ass won’t. With that Connor stood up leaving to go to class, Markus shoot up too offering to walk him to class, North rolled her eyes at the duo, they need to just kiss already, she was close to locking them in a room until they talk about their feelings.

“Those two need to realize their in love already, how do they not see their flirting and now they’re partners on a project you need to work on out of school?! Can this get anymore stereotypical? How can someone be that oblivious?” North asked a loud, shaking her head at her idiots.

Amelia and Rose shared a look, North had no idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked how this one turned out actually!


	7. How To Be A Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idek just some guys being dudes but also gay.  
> This is mostly a short filler chapter I forgot where I was going with it when I started so it's just the squad bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! Honestly the first two paragraphs have been in my doc since I finished that last chapter, oops. I kept telling myself I'd write this one soon and then I didn't. But I got ISS at school (FOR A DRESS CODE I DIDN'T EVEN BREAK LITERALLY I'M SO UPSET!!!!1111!!!) and I didn't have school work (CAUSE I COULDN'T GO GET THE WORK) so I wrote this and another story. Omg it was hell but I have to have to go again on monday so maybe there will be an eighth soon. But don't get me started there is not enough room on here for me to get all my thoughts on this buLLSHIT out. :)

The rest of the day passed by relatively quick and Connor didn’t have to deal with Mr. G so that was a plus. He also got to have chemistry with North and Josh, he’s pretty sure the teacher hated the three of them. North and Josh are always fighting and when they aren’t the trio was laughing a little too loud for her liking. But they always get their work done and turned in on time so she didn’t complain much. They worked good together as a team, each having their own skills to bring to the table; Josh was cautious and always made sure they were following the safety instructions, North wasn't afraid to deal with the chemicals and fire, Connor would write down all the steps and procedures meticulously, their teacher was very strict about that, as well as make sure they followed every step to a lab. 

It seemed like the only bad things about that day was the exhaustion, physically and emotionally, was nagging at the back of his mind, he nearly fell asleep in his French class which is highly unusual for him, he also didn’t have English on A days. Connor keeps having to tell himself that it’s because he loves reading and writing and while that’s true, there was another reason for him looking forward to language arts. Connor had long ago accepted that he was in love with his best friend. But to be fair Markus made it hard not to love him, he was the quickest to befriend him, Simon was the first but it took a few weeks for Simon to talk to him. On top of that he was always kind to everyone and tried to keep the peace which took a lot with their friend group. It didn’t help that he was ridiculously attractive.

It took a painfully awkward conversation with Hank for Connor to realize that fact. He couldn’t remember ever liking someone like that before Markus, so originally he thought he hated him. His chest would get tight, his face would flush and he could barely talk around him. Connor was very upset about his newfound feelings. But after he finally told Hank the older guy just laughed at him, which only ruther upsetted him. But after Hank explained that Connor just had a crush, things made a lot more sense but also complicated them more. 

At the time Connor realized that, North still hated him, so finding ways to talk to Markus was hard. The year before they didn’t have any classes together so the only times they crossed paths was when Connor would walk with Simon and bump into him. Sometimes literally, Connor is sure Simon knows because he would push Connor into Markus too many times to simply be an accident.

A year later and nothing had changed besides the fact he didn’t need to be shoved into Markus to talk to him.

The final bell rang dismissing them from school after what felt like forever. He had only left the class for a minute when he walked straight into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Connor said to the person. 

“It’s no problem,” Connor recognized that voice. What are the odds , he looked up to see Markus smiling at him. “Just like old times, though you do know can just talk to me now. Without trying to knock me over, right?” 

“Yeah, I know, I was just thinking about something. Guess I wasn’t paying attention very well,” Connor said, looking at everything but the man in front of him, feeling his face heat up. 

“Yeah? What were you thinking about?” Markus asked letting some amusement slip into his voice when he noticed Connor blushing.  
“Nothing important, just some school work.” the younger of the too said trying to play it off like he hadn’t spent an entire class period thinking of him. 

“Okay...Well anyways we should get going. Don’t want to repeat yesterday’s incident.” Markus sounded skeptical at Connor’s response but shrugged it off for a more lighthearted conversation. Both Connor and North had looked tired that morning, meaning it was probably a rough night and he didn’t want to push in case it had to do with whatever occurred the night before. Connor would tell him if he wanted too.

“I don’t know I find in entertaining.” Connor said with a smile.

“Well I find not being yelled at just as fun.”

“Well you’re lame”

“No I just have self preservation skills.” Connor laughed at that. 

“Markus, you are one of the most recklous people I know, don’t even try that.” He said giving Markus and deadpanned look. 

“But I’ll always be second to you, Con.” Markus retorted with a mock version of the look Connor gave him. 

“Be quiet, I’m not that bad.” Connor said.

“Yeah you are!” Markus argued, opening the door to the parking lot.

“Not really.” 

“Really.” 

“What are you you arguing about now?” North was already leaning against the car with her arms crossed.

“North, does Connor have any sense of self safety?” Markus asked the girl looking at her expectantly. Connor stood next to Markus with the same look on his face.

“God no.” Came her immediate answer.” 

“I’m not that bad!” Connor looked at North like she had kicked him dog.

“Do you remember that time you ran into traffic because you saw Kara and Alice?” Markus asked.

“I knew I wouldn’t get hit. I planned ahead and timed it right!” Connor argued.

“What about that time you ran across rooftops and legitimately thought about jumping onto a moving train because Rupert told you he was upset, what was it about?”, North gave him a look that clearly said she wasn’t having anything he tried to say, before leaning forward towards him slightly and smirking, “Oh right his bird flew away.” 

“It was getting away…” Connor weakly tried to counter.

“Give it up Sherlock we win this one.” North continued to smirk while holding her hand up for Markus to high five her. And he did just that turning to give the the younger male a shiteating grin. 

“Did I hear that right? Did you two beat Connor in an argument?” The turned and saw Simon and Josh approaching, Simon’s mouth was open in fake shock.

“Well to be fair there was no way he could have won, so it was pretty easy.” Markus said opening the drivers door and unlocking the car.

“What was it about?” Josh asked.

“Connor’s self preservation skills or lack thereof.” North answered.

“Oh, yeah, now I see how you won that.” Josh said nodding his head.

“I’m not that bad!” Connor said indignantly, four sets of eyes turned to him, all conveying the same message. “Fine but I have gotten better!” 

“He’s got us there. He definitely has gotten better.” Simon agreed before turning to look at the boy in question. “How do you manage to win even after losing?” 

Connor shrugged, “I have skills.” 

“You sure do have some,” Markus said looking at him through the rearview mirror. He was smiling wide, just like he was always did but there was something in his eyes that made Connor smile before ducking his head. Markus continued to look at him even after they broke eye contact for just a second or two before turning on the car on and pulling out. “Just not self preservation ones.” Connors head shot up to look at him with a disbelieving smile. Markus smirked at him, looking through the mirror again. Connor looked nice when he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I'm so mad but it does force me to write BUT WHATEVER.


	8. The Start Of An Interesting Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a second this becomes a group chat fic. The crew starts the day of their biggest feat yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed that some of the things I've been planning for this section sorta interrupted each other but don't worry I've got it figured out! This will make sense I promise!
> 
> Also I'm dumb I finally figured out how to get italics and such into the text...If I had known this 7 chapters ago that would have been nice! SMH @ myself

The next day Connor allowed himself to sleep in an extra hour, it was a saturday and he deserved it after the week he’d had. Well, he told himself he’d sleep but in reality, he woke up at the same time as always but laid in bed for an hour doing nothing. But much sooner then he would have liked his phone began to vibrate every few seconds, signifying the others had finally woken up. When he time it was only 6:30am which meant it was probably Josh and Markus. Connor ignored them in favor of continuing to do nothing. He ended up falling back to sleep but was again woken up by his phone blowing up, by then it was 10:15; Simon was up. Connor realized he would not be able to go back to sleep this time so reluctantly he rolled out of bed to get the day somewhat started.

 

Only after he finished getting ready (save for changing out of his pajamas), he decided to check the messages that, thankfully, slowed down. As per the norm it had started with Josh sending a goodmorning text, to which Markus replied back asking how everyone was, despite knowing Josh and maybe Connor were awake and might reply. The two had chatted back and forth simply talking about how their night was before the conversation died for a while. Then Simon joined asking if they were ready for the day with a smiley face and an exclamation mark. That got the other two excited as well. That’s when things got crazy. That day they were going to Stratford Tower to be interviewed for their activistic work because they, somehow, became the most vocal of the movement. Well, it was more so Markus was being interviewed. The others were going to help/support him. 

 

Connor was a little nervous, he didn’t like being in the public eye, he’d had his fair share because of Amanda and wasn’t too keen on being back in it. It’d taken months to stop being just Amanda Stern’s son. Hopefully, they kept their attention on Markus and their protests, which they should as that was the whole reason they were going. 

 

It was safe to say Connor was still excited to go and, as the text messages proved, so was everyone else. He continued to scroll through the conversation not really bothering to truly read the texts, he had an idea as to what they had said. Though much to his surprise North had entered the chat before Connor had even woken up, and it wasn’t just to tell them to shut up. She actually sounded awake and invested in the discussion. Odd. 

 

_ ‘Hey, I’m awake now.’  _ Connor sent figuring he should tell them he was actually reading along with the messages. 

 

_ ‘“Awake now” were you asleep?? It’s 10:30!’  _ Simon quickly sent back.

 

_ ‘I didn’t know you could sleep for that long’  _ Josh relied a second later.

 

_ ‘I wasn’t sure he could sleep at all I thought Connor ran on coffee and stress’  _

 

_ ‘North you literally saw me asleep three days ago.’  _ Connor said, fondly rolling his eyes at her.

 

_ ‘Yeah but I could have been dreaming or hallucinating’  _ She shot back.

 

_ ‘ANYWAYS good morning Connor welcome to the land of the living’  _ Markus butt in, stopping the ensuing debate.

 

_ ‘Hi Markus, thank you for being the only nice one :D!’  _ Connor sent, knowing full well what was to follow. He waited a second for the messages to roll in before leaving the chat and locking his phone, it was karma for waking him up with the spam.    

 

Connor enjoyed s nice, peaceful morning with Sumo. Everything was going nicely before Hank walked in looking disgruntled, which wasn’t unusual especially considering he had to go to work on a Saturday. 

 

“Tell your friends to stop texting me. Also, North wanted me to call you a shit and that she was going to beat your ass.” Hank said searching the cabinet for a mug, “So, what did you do?”    

 

“Nothing! I told you that’s just how North is if you talk before noon.”Connor told him with what he hoped was an innocent looking smile.

 

“Uh-huh sure I might have believed that if the other three hadn’t sent similar messages, sans that threat of bodily harm bit.” The older guy said leveling his son with a look of suspicion.

 

“Fine. I just started a pleasant, friendly discussion then, you know, left the chat.” Connor explained trying to play it off like he hadn’t started a fight because he was being petty. 

 

“Of course you did. I hope you have fun when you see them in a few hours, I’m sure they can’t wait to see you, but if I was you I’d respond soon. How do they all have my number anyways? And could they not text me. If they did everytime you did something dumb I’d never get a break.” Hank asked, turning back to look at Connor after finding a mug fro his coffee.

 

“I gave it to them incase of an emergency. Like I have Carl’s, Rose’s and Simons and Josh’s parents.” Connor explained getting up to wash out his dishes. 

 

“Huh, when you’d do that?” Hank asked.

 

“Oh, um, a while ago. Because of the protests. And stuff.” The younger of the two said quickly. He wasn’t willing to admit it was because Connor had nearly fallen off a building while helping their friend, Daniel, babysit a girl named Emma, because Emma tripped somewhat close to the rail when Daniel wasn’t paying attention and Connor panicked. Which, to be fair, wasn’t the stupidest thing he’d done to nearly fall of a tall building. But the crew had all agreed that he was a hazard to himself so they demanded Hank’s number just in case.  

 

“Sure…”Hank said sceptically. He could tell by the way Connor had said it that there was more to their reasoning but that also seemed like legitimate, logical reason. So he let it slide, for the time being. “Okay, well I guess I’m off to hell. See you tonight, ‘k?”

 

“Okay. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Connor yelled out as Hank unlocked the front door. 

 

“That's setting the bar kinda low, son.” Came the reply before the door slammed shut. Why was everyone calling him out for his reckless tendencies recently?

 

 Oh well, he needed to make sure his friends didn’t kill him when they meet up at Markus’ house in about three hours, he reluctantly turned his phone back on and cringed at the amount of message that started coming in. He didn’t think there would be that many, but then again they were all very dramatic people.

 

‘ _I love you all <3_’ He sent 

 

‘ _CONNOR I WILL FIGHT YOU!!!1!!_ ’ North replied quickly. 

 

‘ _:D_ ’ He knew she didn’t mean any of it, maybe a light punch to his shoulder but nothing that would hurt.

 

He figured now they would stop yelling at him for a while. Connor got up and decided to do something actually productive. He threw on the closest hoodie to him and went on a walk with Sumo. Going on walks was one of his favorite things to do, it never failed to calm him plus it was walking a dog which was his favorite species ever, but more importantly it was Sumo, the true love of his life. Connor loved that dog more than he likes most people in general. If he was being completely transparent Sumo was definitely one of the reasons he was fine with staying with Hank in the beginning, he had a feeling Hank knew that too. 

 

After getting back home from the walk he decided to properly get his day started.Once he was done with his shower and getting dressed it was getting close to when Markus should be getting there to pick Connor up. As if on cue he heard the tail-tell sound of Markus’ car horn from outside, he quickly grabbed his house keys, stopping to pet Sumo goodbye, and was out the door, jogging to the car.

 

“Hey, guys.” He greeted his friends. 

 

“Hey, you do know you didn’t lock the door, right?” Simon asked with an amused smile on his face.

 

Connor mumbled a curse under his breath, before going back to the door and properly locking it and headed back to the car. 

 

“Look at me, being all nice to you.” The blonde said in a teasing tone once Connor finally got into the car. He rolled his eyes at his friend, a small smile playing on his lips.

 

“Oh, yeah! Thanks for the reminder Simon.” North said as she leaned over said boy to punch Connor’s shoulder. 

 

“How did I know that was going to happen?” Connor asked dryly, lightly rubbing where the girl had hit him.

 

“You know how it’s going to end yet insist on always doing things to warrant that response?” Josh asked from his spot up front. Connor just shrugged not really knowing how to respond to that in a way that wouldn’t make him seem like an idiot. “Fair enough.” 

 

“Okay, big day, guys! Are you all ready for this?” Markus asked.

 

“I think the real question is are  _ you _ ready, Markus? You’re the one who's going to be on TV.” Connor asked in response. 

 

“I mean I guess, Carl’s been interviewed a bunch because of his art so I have an idea about what to expect but I’ve never been so I’m a little nervous. This has to go great.” Markus confessed.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s not too bad after a few minutes, plus you’re a natural public speaker, you’ll be amazing.” Connor spoke up from behind him. Sometimes it was easy to forget about what Connor’s life was like before Hank, but it was kinda reassuring having someone there who’s been through something like this before, even if Connor never brought it up a bunch. 

 

“And as a bonus you have us! It’s sorta become our jobs to help you with this stuff. We’ll be your own personal cheerleaders or whatever helps you.” North added.

 

“What she means is that we’ll be there with you and can help if you think you need us. Worse case we can cause a pretty big distraction while we make our great escape.” Simon continued. 

 

“That last part won’t happen, but the rest is true.” Josh finished.

 

“Yeah, yeah, okay, you guys are right. It will be fine! We can work everything out when we get to my place.” Markus said nervously moving his hands on the steering wheel. The rest of the car ride was filled with more excited expectations for the day they had a head them, it was definitely going to be interesting.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This plot point has gone on longer than I thought it would be we're almost done with this side quest! Also Carl! Next chapter we get to see some more characters.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that wasn't too bad lol. Like I said this is a first and I'll get better with every chapter!
> 
> let me know if there is any mistakes
> 
> feedback is appreciated!


End file.
